The Desert of the Mind
by thePotatoandtheEagle
Summary: Ra's clenched his fists as he walked briskly through the halls of his current residence, robes billowing behind him at the fast pace, proclaiming him the king he was. Timothy Drake. He would have that boy soon enough.
1. Chapter 1- Nine Hours

The Desert of the Mind

Tim's aircraft fell, spinning as it dropped from space and back towards earth. The whole thing shook, making it practically impossible to see, so Red Robin slammed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He needed to stay conscious as he entered earth's atmosphere if he wanted to pull the ejection on his seat and parachute out. Or what he thought was ejection button. Alien language was always a tricky one to read.

He briefly thought of the possibility of Superman or Green lantern coming just on time and saving him, but dismissed the idea, as the two of them, along with practically the entire Justice League, were deep in space, trying to take down the enemy's queen. That didn't make him stop hoping though.

Just another day of protecting the world from an alien invasion. However, him taking a hit for Robin and plummeting to an almost imminent death was a new one.

Tim gripped the steering wheel, trying to guide the broken aircraft into some kind of direction of some kind, but it was impossible. The blaring red lights and alarms going off made it all the harder to focus and stay conscious.

 _That little brat had better be grateful,_ Tim thought as his heart pounded to fast it hurt, but he kept his focus. Sweat poured down the contours of his face as the heat of the aircraft entering earth's atmosphere began to increase dramatically.

 _Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake,_ was the mantra going through his head.

 _Stay awake, stay awake, stay alive-_

* * *

"And never return to earth." Superman's voice rang out, commanding and all around _done_ with mindless alien invasions that costed so much of his and his friends time. The queen alien repeated the promise never to return in her native tongue, two eyes on Superman, and seven other watching Batman in fear. Clark smiled internally. It was good to have friends.

"Good. Now _keep_ your promise and _leave_. We _will_ be watching you." Superman's eyes glowed red, emphasizing the threat.

The rest of the Justice League then left, after the alien queen vowed never to return and called off the rest of her fleets, some flying, some using jets, others joining Green Lantern as their ticket back to the watchtower. It had been a long fight, from earth to space, and it finally came to a close with the aliens leaving, never to return.

Superman flew back to the watchtower, where they were going to hold a quick debrief before heading back to earth to help the ground front recuperate from the attack. He sighed to himself, but smiled. It was a good day.

"Superman to Titans, we have-" Before he could contact the young teens that helped the JLA in the process of pushing the aliens back from earth to space, Robin's voice cut him off.

"Superman, finally!" Came the growl, "I've been trying to contact Batman for hours now, where is he?"

While answering, Clark couldn't help but smirk at Robin's explosive yet commanding voice. "His com was hit with an EMP, along with most of the league, but he's _fine,_ so no need to worry _._ Should be at the tower right now in fact-"

"I am not worried about _him!"_ Another day, Superman would have laughed, because he knew Damian was trying to deny his worry for his father, when it was plainly evident that he did worry and think about him, but not this time. Robin was serious. Something had-

"What happened!?" The kryptonian demanded, the smile slipping off his face to be replaced by a frown. Dread was starting to cement in his stomach.

"It's Dra- Red Robin. The idiot took a hit and dropped to earth. We've been fighting off the last wave of aliens and weren't able to sav-catch him."

* * *

Bruce sat in a closed off room to the medical wing, grunting as Dianna popped his shoulder back into place.

"You really should rest more." Came her warrior voice, though her tone indicated that she knew it was pointless.

"After. The people still need us." He stood up, pulling his cowl over his face, and rolling his shoulder.

Wonder Woman smiled while raising an eyebrow. "When do they not?"

Batman tilted his head with a grunt in agreement to that, while they both walked, side by side, to the meeting room, where the rest of the league where arriving, mostly unscathed.

"Where's superman?" Batman's deep voice carried through the room, and Captain Atom stood up to respond.

"He should be in the-"

Just then, superman flew by the transparent window of the watchtower, and entered the bay door.

"Never mind. There he is." He said with a small smile.

Seconds later, Superman flew in, and Bruce could immediately tell something was wrong. He was flying fast. Very fast.

"Batman!" The kryptonian landed next to his side, and Bruce kept quite, waiting for the news.

"It's Red Robin."

* * *

Robin gritted his teeth as he slammed his fits down on he computer.

"That won't help you know." Ravens levelled voice came down from where she was floating.

"Nothing! Every tracking system, mechanism, and algorithm gives _nothing_. It's been nine hours since that _idiot_ fell, and we haven't gotten anything." Damian's voice was exasperated, as he pinched the bridge of his nose with is fingers. "How about you?" He asked, looking up at Raven's glowing form as she tired to track him by spirit and psyche.

She opened her eyes and floated down. "Nothing."

Damian sighed narrowing his eyes in anger. The Titans had been giving the JLA air support as they went to break through the alien ranks, and with both Starfire and Beast Boy injured by the initial attack, it had just been Robin and Raven in the sky, as cyborg and blue beetle were both helping with the ground attack.

The waves of enemy aliens grew and grew and they were forced to call for backup, though the son of Batman had been extremely … disappointed to get Drake. Regardless, with his help, they were able to push them back to the edge of the atmosphere, back into space.

And then… he had made a mistake. Robin had made himself a clear target, _stupid_ , but Tim had rammed into him with his own spaceship and pushed him out of firing range. And put himself in direct line of fire (what an idiot). When the spaceship Tim was in, which was one he hijacked from the aliens, was hit, Damian tried to focus on how Tim was pushed to the left probably a few miles as he plummeted towards earth. On how Robin should have moved first. On how he needed to get to where Drake was falling before he burned up, or on how because he had been _sloppy,_ that might have costed a life, no matter how trivial. But right after that, everything went up in flames. Literally.

They were swarmed and forced to retreat. He then had met up with Nightwing and Red Hood, who were manning Gotham, and relayed the information. Not that they could do much when he did, as the aliens broke into Black Gate and all hell broke loose.

 _"We have to find him, contact Bats and tell him-" Nightwing was cut off._

 _"Jim to Nightwing," Gordon had cut in on the com, "the aliens just broke into Black_ _G_ _ate! We-!" An explosion rocked in the background, "We're overwhelmed here, but things-arrh! get those men back! Things are just going to get worse! We **can not** have those prisoners escape-" another explosion had cut the cop off, and he had ended the call with "get over here!". _

_Nightwing turned to look at Red Hood and Robin. Damian could read the turmoil on his face and gritted his teeth. They all made eye contact and nodded._

 _"Right, Tim will have to wait." Damian could see the guilt and pain on his brothers face and silently cursed Red Robin for putting him in such a state. "Priority one, clear and secure the streets and Black_ _G_ _ate. Also, **someone** get in contact with Batman. We need him." _

As it turned out, it had been much more complicated and the fight took longer than expected. **Nine hours** longer than expected. And after getting word from the JLA that they had won, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin had little time to celebrate as Red Robin had practically disappeared from the face of the planet. Not that Damian didn't mind his absence, but Nightwing certainly did, and with little to no contact with the Justice League after Superman answered, they were getting nowhere.

* * *

Sand. It went on forever. Everywhere Tim looked.

Dry, dry, hot sand. The air was hot, hard to breath.

He had barely made it through the fall without dying from the heat and spinning, hitting the ejection button he didn't know existed before then. That had been 2 hours ago. The whole ship was long gone, the alien metal eaten by flames, and with his his com and gauntlet system fried, Tim had no food, water, or means of communication.

And it was coasting him.

Still he trudged on. Judging by the terrain, his best chance at finding civilization was to head north, but after spinning miles of course from his position in space, Tim had no idea where he was. Still. Right foot. Left foot. One after the other. Sliding through the grains of hot sand.

Red Robin's vision blurred suddenly, and everything had a double. The nausea in his head grew to a sharp pain, and his stomach flipped. The world spun, causing Tim to stumble, losing his balance, and hitting his knees with a gasp of pain. He hadn't counted his injuries, but he knew there were … a lot. His vision then tripled, and darkness invaded his sight.

(\M/)

\/

Tim woke up blearily, groaning as the sunlight hit his eyes. Groaning, he buried himself deeper into the blood red silk sheets that were draped over his lithe body.

 _Wait, silk? I don't … have silk … blankets …_ Tim thought tiredly, dozing off and on the verge of falling back asleep, before snapping his eyes wide open.

 _And my blankets certainly aren't red!_

Bolting straight up, Tim's vision swam with a blur of colours and he fell right back down again, the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach cementing as he looked up. High ceilings with middle eastern designs on them, the tall pillars with large open windows, and the scent of a certain, very familiar, incense blowing softly with the wind.

Tim gulped.

"Good morning, Timothy."

Tim's head snapped to the right, where he saw none other than Ra's al Ghul sitting cross legged on a plush chair, the glint in his eye sending a familiar bolt of fear through him.

"Sleep well?"

 _Crap._

 **Oi, thanks for stopping by, it means a lot. Leave a review, it's legit amazing motivation, and all suggestions, constructive criticism, likes, dislikes, and all-around feedback is _greatly_ suggestions. **

**Have a good one!**

 **-the Eagle (I'm not bald tho :D)**


	2. Chapter 2- Two Days

The Desert of the Mind

Chapter 2- Two Days

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"Tea?"

"No-white ginger?"

A raised eyebrow.

"...Sure." A reluctant answer.

"As I thought."

Tim quirked his eyebrows together in a questioning way.

"You still have a headache and white ginger is a remedy not known by many for just that. Then again," a chuckle, "you've never been like many."

Quirked eyebrows turned to a frown, but he didn't deny it. "I had too much time on my hands to be like everyone else." Tim said, slightly disgruntled, but resigned by now to the fact that Ra's would know more about him than he'd like.

Tim missed the gleam of satisfaction in Ra's eyes, concentrating on the board in front of him.

"Yes... yes I suppose you did." Ra's mused, giving the younger male a once over, his lips curving upward at his unwilling guest. Tim finally moved his piece and leaned back in his seat, glancing up. As Ra's regarded the board and contrived his next move, Tim tried to remember exactly how he came to be sitting down, playing a game of chess, with one of his most feared enemies.

" _Sleep well?"_

 _Crap._

 _High walls and earth tones decorated the room in a clearly middle eastern design. The scent of incense in the wind was ever present yet subtle, like the richness in each design throughout the room. Light streamed through wide, open windows, and the sound of nature was a permissible yet prominent background noise._

 _There were three things Tim noticed almost immediately. One, he was alone in the room, save the Demons Head, sitting next to him. Two, he was maskless, as well as lacking the much-needed set of clothing. Lastly, it was morning._

 _How long had he'd been out?_

" _Two days." Came the baritone, slightly accented voice._

 _Now, Tim hadn't trained nearly as long as Dick, or Jason, not even mention Cass or Damien, but he still had years of training instilled in him at a young age. And with this, a normal person would have missed his flinch, but Ra's al Ghul was anything but a normal person. And a suppressed flinch was pretty much equivalent to a gasp._

 _How this man, if he could be called that, always seemed to know what he was thinking escaped Tim. And scared him_ _more than he'd like to admit._

 **Never let your feelings control your actions. Especially in a hostage situation, should you ever find yourself on the receiving end. Though if you're careful, you won't.** A memory, years old, back when he was training as Robin, hit him sideways.

 _Sorry Bruce, a little late for that…_ Tim thought with humorless resignation.

 _ **The first thing you need to do is assess the situation. Are you injured? If so, to what extent? Can you move? Fight? Are you alone, or are there other captives or captors in the room? How many? What kind of room are you in? All of these are important questions, and need to be answered as soon as possible, but the most important is this:**_

 _ **Are you in any immediate danger?**_

 _No. Ra's wouldn't have saved him if he was and though he wasn't fully certain that nothing had been done to him internally, that had never been the older man's MO._

 _Tim's peripheral vision caught movement, and his head snapped toward the door opening to his right. He immediately regretted it. Once the swirl of colours settled down to their respective shapes, Tim recognized Ubu, right hand man to Ra's, enter and deliver what looked like an envelope to the Demon's Head. For such a big man, Ubu was ridiculously quiet._

 _Ra's received it with a slight frown and Ubu exited the room, sparing a single glance toward Tim's direction._

" _Where am I Ra's?" Tim demanded. Or would have liked to. Instead of words, a broken, barely audible sound came out of his mouth. "Ehrnn?" Tim made a noise of astonishment with his throat, digging his fingers into the pale expanse of his neck, cobalt eyes wide at the sound of his voice. His throat was so dry, he was surprised that his vocal cords still worked._

" _You are very far away from home, that is plainly obvious."_

 _Tim flinched yet again, just barely, but he knew the older man hadn't missed it._

 _Sharp green eyes, as if cut from diamond and smouldered in a deep fire, ran up and down Tim's body, taking note of the many injuries littered up and down his body. Setting the_ _white_ _envelope on the side-table to his left, Ra's got up from his seat and walked towards the bed stand where a beautifully carved clay jug sat with a cup at its side. Pouring clear water into it, he walked towards the bedside Tim was strewn across._

" _Drink." He didn't need to be told twice._

 _The cool water tasted like Heaven, running down Tim's dry throat, and after he downed the contents of the cup, the young vigilante felt 100 times better._

 _After drinking two cups of water in what felt like seconds, Tim turned back to his so-called saviour._

" _Why am I here Ra's." He needed information, he needed to know what on earth was going on_ _and what exactly_ _Ra's wanted. Because he never did anything without strings attached._

" _I have a… proposition. And I think you'll find you'll be very interested._

* * *

"...with Riddler and Bane, and Deathstroke is also unaccounted for." Dick finished, saving the most troubling for last. Deathstroke was pretty much impossible to find when he wanted to hide.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Anything else?" Came the familiar growl of the Dark Knight.

"Dinner, a shower, and a minimum of eight hours of sleep are all that are left on your agenda. And are at the highest priority, might I add."

"Alfred, you know I can't-"

"Non negotiable." The British voice was unmistakable in its firmness. "Master Bruce, do understand that I wish to locate Master Tim just as quickly as you do. However, you cannot do that if you are not in optimal condition, especially after a 46 hour battle, in which you received no food or sleep, minimal water, and no sleep for the past three days." The voice was softer this time, but left no room for debate.

Batman locked eyes with his butler, age old friend, and father figure, looking up at him standing on the steps of the cave.

"No." The deep voice echoed off the cave in a responding rumble.

"I'll take the food and water Alfred, thank you." The sincerity in his voice was evident, "But I can't wait any longer than I have. Civilians dead and missing, criminals on the loose, global states of emergencies… and Tim is gone." Bruce looked deep into the old eyes above him.

"I have to find him."

 _Before I lose another one._

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 **Hahahahaha, okaaayyy, so I KNOW how long it's been, and gosh, what a year. Honestly, I didn't know if it would end. Y'all, I could go over the CRAZY school semester, trouble at work, my house flooding, abundant trips the ER which are thankfully resolved now, and the rest of the stuff that happened, but lets not make this longer than it has to be. To sum things up, I' for such a break in my updates, but don't worry, I'm am NOT that author that drops a story (my brain wouldn't let me even if I tried) and I plan on seeing this badboy through to the end, so even though its almost been a year, I would like to continue, if y'all are interested. I know that this is super short and again, I'm sorry! This is just a little bit of what I have, there is more material I'm working on and will be out soon but I figured I should get this out ASAP!  
**

 **Thank you so, so, so much to everyone who has liked, viewed, and most importantly, left a review, it means SO much to me, and honestly, the reviews were my biggest motivation.**


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